Don Peat, City Hall Bureau Chief

TORONTO - Mayor Rob Ford is defending his use of robocalls to invite people to Ford Fest this Friday.

The robocall featuring Ford was fired out to residents across the city on Tuesday night.

“We have robocalled before and we will robocall next year,” Ford told reporters Wednesday. “That’s how you invite people. You cannot, it is virtually impossible to get to everyone’s door with an invitation.”

Ford Fest is set to start at 5 p.m. on Friday in Thomson Park but has been embroiled in controversy this year due to it being held on city property in the midst of an election by a the family of a registered mayoral candidate. Ford maintains the event is not political — a premise city bureaucrats relied on to grant the park permit.